Change of Heart
by SparkELee
Summary: Danny and Lindsay are over before they began... Flack sweeps in and soon you're listening to the FM Radio! CHECK IT OUT! Mostly FM, with hits of DL...
1. Vulnerable

Set immediately after Snow Day

OK so all of you die-hard fans of mine (lol, I might be a bit full of myself, but you guys really are just fantastic) know that in my heart of hearts, I'm a DL shipper. That's not in question. But lately, well, I've been listening to a lot of FM radio… And I have to admit, there are some aspects of FM that are appealing… So I'm going to give it a shot.

This is my first crack at a true FM fic, so your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Change of Heart

Chapter 1: Vulnerable

"_Sorry."_

"_For what?"  
_

"_You weren't supposed to be here. You took my shift."_

Danny replayed their conversation over and over again. Each time he did, he sunk a little bit deeper into his pool of self loathing.

It wasn't her fault. She hadn't done anything wrong. She hadn't asked him to switch, over even to wake her up. She would have gotten up the first time she'd woke, and that would have been that.

But it wasn't that easy. For as simple and uncomplicated as she was, Montana turned his emotions into one big complex mess. She made him vulnerable, emotional, and susceptible to rash, illogical decisions. He didn't like that. He didn't like thinking with his heart. Thinking with his heart had only caused him problems in the past, and frankly, he didn't want to back down that road.

Which was why he'd, as gently as possible, let go of Lindsay 4 hours before.

"_I… I care Linds. Ok, I do. And probably too much. I'm gettin' sloppy, making snap decisions, not usin' my head like I should. And it ain't your fault, you didn't do anything. It's me, I'm just… I'm bad at this. I'm sorry, God, I'm so sorry, I didn't think… I lead you on, did all I could to get to you and I do this. I feel awful Lindsay and I really wish I didn't have to do this…"_

She'd been crushed by his words. Lindsay wiped furiously at the tear that rolled down her cheek. _Damn him! Damn him for making me cry…_ She'd been completely shocked when he'd told her it was over… Whatever "it" was… It was over before it even began. All those months of flirtation, chasing, extending olive branches, it had all come down to this.

All because he felt vulnerable. _What did he expect??! Being vulnerable is part of being in a relationship… Not that I should be surprised, Danny Messer doesn't know the first thing about relationships!_

Truth be told, she was angry more than anything else, and in a way, that wasn't such a bad thing. Anger was an emotion she could deal with. Anger made it easier to get over him. At this point, she'd rather be mad at him then be sad over him.

Finally, after wallowing for a few hours, she dragged herself to the bathroom, splashed some cold water on her face, and padded to bed, falling in, promising she wouldn't cry herself to sleep.

7AM came early. Lindsay blinked several times at the harsh sun pouring in through her bedroom window. She rolled over and swung her feet to the floor.

30 minutes later she was clean and fresh, and none of it made her feel better. She stared at her face in the mirror. Her hair was wet and sticking to her face in places. Her face was pale, her cheeks round.

Him dumping her… It made sense… She wasn't Danny's type… She wasn't from the city, she wasn't street smart, blonde, tiny… She was plain old Lindsay Monroe from Bozeman Montana. She didn't date the Danny Messers of the world.

She'd affected him… just not in the way you're supposed to affect someone you care about. She tore her gaze from the mirror, unable to continue to look at herself.

With her short black terry cloth robe wrapped around her, she strode to her closet, pulling out her favorite light grey pants and her new vibrant red v-neck t-shirt, and her black boots. She laid them on the bed and returned to the bathroom, quickly blow drying her hair straight, a look she hadn't worn in a long time. Danny had liked her hair curly… _Stop…You can't just call him to mind every 5 minutes._ She reminded herself sternly. She applied her makeup, paying more attention to detail than she normally did.

She glanced at the bathroom clock. She needed to get going. She pulled on her outfit, stuffing her feet into her shoes. She grabbed her purse, keys, phone and sunglasses and left for work.

She stepped off the subway a block from the lab and strode out into the sunshine. She was pleasantly surprised to find the temperature more than bearable. It was nice actually. Nice enough to bring a smile to her face.

"What can you possibly be happy about at 8:30 in the morning Monroe?" A deep voice laced with sleep questioned.

She turned and found Flack walking from the east, his eyes covered by dark aviator shades, his suit was dark, a bright blue button down underneath.

"Actually, I wasn't until I realized it was a nice day." She replied softly as she waited for him to catch up.

He fell into step beside her. "Long night takin' care of Messer's wounds?" He questioned.

At the mention of his name, her face dropped. When Flack got no response, he turned and glanced. "What's up? What's wrong?" He asked, lowering his voice and slowing his gait.

"Danny… After I took him home and tried to help him get settled, he… He ended it with me…. He told me I was changing him, that being around me was affecting him… And not in a good way. So he ended it because he's not good at being vulnerable." She replied, instantly regretting her words.

_Confiding in Flack…. AKA Danny's best friend… Definitely not your best choice Linds. Way to go._

He snapped her out of her daze by grabbing her arm and steering her to a small corner stand selling coffee and donuts. He plopped her on the nearby bench.

"Stay." He instructed, his tone kind but commanding. Not that it mattered, she wasn't going anywhere.

She nodded, closing her eyes, willing the tears to stay put, promising herself that she wouldn't cry in front of Flack.

"I need two black coffees and a couple glazed donuts. Thanks." Flack said, tossing the man a ten before coming back to sit by her.

"I probably should have warned you." He told her, handing her a coffee and a donut before biting into his own.

She took a bite and a sip of coffee. "He's right… He isn't good at relationship stuff. This sort of thing has happened before. I thought you were gonna be different, that since he liked a girl like you, it had to mean he was changin', ya know? But I was wrong, and I should've known better. I should have told you." He explained, his voice laced with guilt.

She was quiet for a moment while she processed his words and chewed her donut. She swallowed and turned to him.

"It wasn't your responsibility. You aren't a babysitter and you aren't his mother. Besides, it's not like I didn't know. I heard the rumors about Danny. I'm a big girl. I made a decision. I allowed myself to be pursued, to be flirted with, to go out with someone so obviously out of my league-" She started.

He stuffed a piece of his donut in her open mouth. "Shut up. You don't ever say Danny Messer is out of your league." He informed her sternly.

Lindsay sucked the donut into her mouth, chewing quickly before swallowing. "All I'm saying is I'm not the kind of girl the Danny Messer's of the world date. I'm just not. He's a bad boy, he like tiny little blondes from Brooklyn, not stocky brunettes from Bozeman." She explained.

"Solid." Flack argued, then took a long gulp from his coffee, feeling her eyes on him.

She shot him a confused look.

"You aren't stocky. You're solid. Strong. That's what freaked him out. You didn't need him, you didn't need anyone. You moved here, to New York City, from Podunk Montana and you never asked for help. He isn't used to that. Hell, most men aren't used to that." Flack responded.

Lindsay studied the man next to her. He seemed intent on surprising her. Him and Lindsay had never spoken for long periods of time, never spent a great deal of time together, inside the lab or out…

"Bozeman." She blurted out.

His gaze slid over to her, and she could tell he was trying hard not to look at her like she'd grown a third eye.

"Bozeman Montana. Not Podunk." She went on, and realization dawned on his face.

"I know, I was just making a point. All's I was saying is that you're solid." He told her, tearing off a piece of her donut, seeing as he'd already finished his. He shoved the piece into his mouth and leaned back.

"Solid… I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing." She said, her voice low.

"This city…There are two kinds of women here. There are the ones with bleach blonde hair, plastic breasts, inch long talons for fingernails who dropped out of high school. Then there are the career women, with their black suits and their high button collars, with no sense of humor, fancy educations and a condescending attitude. We don't get many of your type around here." He explained, his voice gentle and quiet.

"You are everything a man wants and needs but usually they're too afraid to admit it. Most men don't always know what to do with you. You're the kind of woman that makes a man want to be better. You affect us. You make us want to do crazy shit that we'd never do, you make us think in ways that we'd prefer not to. And sometimes, for some men, that's just too much to handle. It's too much change." He went on, hoping to god she understood what he meant. All he wanted was for her to understand that none of this was her fault.

"Danny just couldn't handle it." She whispered, staring at her coffee cup, gripping her fingers around it a little tighter.

"Danny's a good guy, my best friend, but it never would have worked out with you two. If he ever settles down, it'll be with a girl from the old neighborhood. A girl who gets him, who'll stay at home and raise the babies, a girl who doesn't make him crazy, who doesn't fight back, doesn't make him feel like he wants to be better. A girl who won't have any affect on him at all." Flack assured her.

"I'm not that girl." She choked out after several long moments. Her inner voice was telling her that Flack was right, that it would have never worked out. But even though she knew he was right, it hurt… It hurt to know that she really and truly wasn't right for Danny. Her nails pressed tighter into the cup, thankful it was now empty.

He watched her reaction, and gently pried the cup from her hands, helping her stand.

Once she was on her feet, he didn't let go of her hands, not until she looked up and made eye contact with him.

"No you're not. And I can't think of one person who'd want you any other way." He told her, as she pitched the donut wrapper.

"I can."

So there you have it. My first chapter of my first real, honest to goodness FM story. I hope you all give it a chance. I just felt it was time for a little bit of change. I get bored and this has been nagging me. I'd really appreciate your thoughts.


	2. Three's A Crowd

Change of Heart

Chapter 2: Three's a Crowd

After a few minutes of peaceful silence, she glanced his way. "Thanks Flack." She said finally, not really knowing what else to say.

He made a dismissive face and gave her a shrug. "Not a problem. I'm just sorry about Messer." He told her, offering her a small smile.

She smiled a little. "Can we… Not talk about Danny for a bit? I'd like the last few minutes before work to be Danny-free." She confessed with a slight chuckle. It was good to laugh, it felt cathartic.

He started to chuckle but the noise died in his throat. "Um, Linds…" He trailed off, pointing to someone slightly off in the distance. Danny. He was leaning against the building, head resting on the hard stone.

Flack stopped short. "Damn it." He muttered, shaking his head.

She turned to look at him, treating him to a questioning glance. "We had plans this morning to get coffee. He texted me yesterday telling me he'd be back today and asked if I wanted to grab a bite and some coffee." He explained, feeling a little bad for standing his friend up, but not as bad as he probably should. _Probably because he's an ass._

"Oh… Flack, I'm sorry. You should have said something." She replied, instantly feeling bad about eating into his time with his friends, no matter who they were.

"Don't worry about it. He's not the best breakfast companion anyways." He confessed, keeping his eyes ahead of him.

"I'll just go in the back." She said as they approached Danny, who didn't appear to have noticed them yet.

She made a move to break left but a strong hand wrapped around her upper arm. "Don't. Don't let him affect you like this. Don't change. Just keep going. The best thing you can do for yourself at this very moment is not let him get to you." Don told, having spun her to face him. His tone was low and serious. He meant what he was saying.

She took a calming breath slowly nodded her head. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She'd keep going, hold her head high. Danny Messer wasn't going to spend one night with her and turn her world upside down. She wouldn't allow it.

He released her arm. She smoothed her hands down her outfit, brushing off the invisible lint. He watched her square her shoulders and exhale soundly.

Once she appeared to be ready, they resumed their walk. It wasn't but a few moments later that they came upon Danny. She knew they wouldn't be able to just walk by him, but he picked his up off the cool concrete and came face to face with Flack and Lindsay before either of them could even say anything.

To say he hadn't been expecting to see the two of them together would have been quite an understatement. "Morning." He choked out awkwardly.

"Morning." They replied in unison. They all stood there a moment longer, the awkward silence felt overwhelmingly obvious.

"Hey, man, I forgot about breakfast. I ate on the way." Flack told Danny as the three of them started to the building, Flack wisely placing himself between Danny and Lindsay.

"No prob. I'll just grab something from the break room." Danny said as he started to grab the door to hold it open for Lindsay.

Flack was a bit closer and a bit quicker and he got a hold of the door first, swinging it open for her. She smiled her appreciation and stepped through. Danny came up to him, an irate expression on his face.

"Hey, don't look at me that way. I'm not the one who dumped her." Flack hissed at the smaller man.

"When...?" Danny trailed off, now confused as to how Flack already knew he'd broken it off with Lindsay.

"Later." Don returned as he made his way through the door to catch up with Lindsay, leaving Danny to lag behind, a bit confused.

The elevator ride was quiet, all three of them at a loss for words. It was Lindsay could do to keep from fidgeting. She was in the far right corner of the elevator, Flack was in the other, and Danny stood a foot or so in front of them, towards the middle.

Flack glanced her way. Her hands were gripping the side rails tight enough to turn her slender fingers white. Her face was a little flushed and she seemed to forget to breathe every so often.

He kept one eye on Danny as she slid his left hand over to her right one and gently began prying her fingers off the rail.

After a moment, she got what he was going. She looked up at him. He mouthed the word 'breathe' at her as she slowly released her other hand. She closed her eyes for a moment and focused on breathing normally.

Then, as if to answer her unspoken prayer, the elevator dinged at the 16th floor. Danny stepped off first, and made a beeline for the kitchen.

"You did good Monroe." Flack told her as she stepped off after collecting herself.

"Thanks. And again, thanks for your help." She said, resting a hand briefly on his bicep, not surprised to find hard muscle underneath his suit.

"Stop thankin' me. But I gotta go, briefing with Mac." He told her, holding up a case file and flashed her a grin as she headed to the locker room.

He delivered the case file and answered a few follow up questions and headed out, needing a second cup of coffee.

He strode casually into the break room, not noticing Danny's lanky frame sprawled out on the couch in the far corner.

Flack quickly poured a cup of black coffee and took a sip. Just as he set it down, Danny spoke up.

"How did you know?" Came his voice from the corner, startling the hell out of Don.

Flack turned to his friend and leaned up against the counter, folding his arms in front of him.

"She told me." He returned evenly, holding Danny's eye contact.

Danny sat up. "When? Did she call you?" He questioned, more curious than anything else.

Don did his best to keep from showing his frustration with his friend. _Guess he doesn't realize he lost the right to ask questions when he dumped her._

"No, she wouldn't do that. I ran into her this morning on the way in. She looked upset. So I bought her coffee and a donut and she told me you broke up with her." Flack told him, bringing his coffee to his lips.

"What did you say?" Danny asked, all of a sudden feeling a strong need to know what the conversation entailed. Not to mention the small part of him that was unhappy that his best friend was buying his ex-girlfriend breakfast.

"God, what is this, high school? Do you have a note you want me to pass along too? You do realize you don't really have the right to ask questions, right?" Flack shot back, exasperated.

Danny sat there, not speaking because he knew that despite how pissed off Flack was, he would tell him eventually, mostly because Flack never keep these kinds of things to himself, especially when it involved teaching Danny a lesson. _Not that I ever bother to take anything from it…_

"I told her I should have warned her and I was sorry. She told me I wasn't responsible. I said it probably would never have worked between the two of you, she agreed and that was that. End of that conversation and hopefully the end of this one." Flack said, hoping to make his exit.

"What? You warned her? You didn't think it would work out? Neither did she? Wait…" Danny called, jumping off the couch and following.

Flack rolled his eyes to the ceiling and cursed under his breath. "Look, the bottom line is you just can't deal with a girl like her. That's fine man, not a big deal. She gets it. We all get it. Can I go now?" the detective asked, hoping Danny was done interrogating him.

Danny nodded absently as he digested Flack's words. Even though he knew Flack was right, and despite the fact that he'd basically told Lindsay exactly what the homicide detective had just told him, he couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't like hearing it. Not that he had right to feel that way, given what he'd done less than 24 hours earlier.

_If I can't handle her… Why do I feel like I made a big mistake?_

And that's chapter 2 ladies. I hope you're enjoying it!


	3. Backing Off and Getting Caught

Change of Heart

Chapter 3: Backing Off & Getting Caught

Lindsay sighed as she gazed into her office from across the hall. There was paperwork sitting all over her desk, but she just didn't feel like facing Danny as this point, and he seemed to have planted himself in the office for the day. Not that she was surprised, Mac wasn't letting him back in the field until his hand was healed. Which meant Danny was going to be doing a lot of paperwork.

"Did we not have a conversation about this? You're hiding behind a plant." A voice came from behind her. She felt Flack's warm breath on her neck and could just barely smell his light cologne.

"I'm not doing anything." She shot back defensively, not turning to face him.

"That's my point. You're lurking outside your own office." He pointed out.

"I know it sounds ridiculous because we barely scratched the surface of dating… But I thought he wanted me… He spent so long… I just… I'm not ready to go in there and pretend I'm ok with him." She explained, feeling stupid for confessing to such a girlish feeling.

"So… What's the plan?" He questioned, his tone was teasing. He wasn't going to press her on this. She wasn't ready to be alone with him yet and he respected that.

She smiled sheepishly. "Wait until he has to pee, run in there, get my paperwork and run out." She relayed, feeling a little ridiculous.

She heard Flack laugh behind her. "I can do you one better. Hawkes needs him down in the lab. Somethin' related to the chemical Danny threw on his attacker. I was just on my way to tell him." He informed her.

She looked back, appreciation evident in her eyes as she exhaled a sigh of relief. He stepped out from behind her and poked his head in to tell Danny.

Lindsay waited until Flack nodded that Danny was out of sight and made her way to the office. She hurried to her desk, gathering her papers while Flack stood guard at the door.

"Flack!" He turned at the sound of his name. Stella.

"Hey Stel. What's up?" He asked, not leaving his post by the office door.

"I need your help on the Gavalli case we got this morning. Mac said you took statements." She said.

"I did." He confirmed, turning away from her, to glance into the office, then down the hall.

"Well I need to go over them." She continued, shooting him a strange look.

"Ok." He replied, her odd expression going unnoticed as he pulled out his book and hurried over to her, handing it to her has he kept his eyes on the door and the hall.

"Don't do this." She warned him as he hurried back to the door.

He froze.

They really did underestimate her. She'd seen it all.

She'd seen Flack and Lindsay walking together that morning as she'd crossed the street on her way in.

She saw their interaction with Danny right before they walked in.

And she'd just seen Flack and Lindsay having a very quiet, intimate conversation in the hall that ended with Lindsay scrambling across the hall into her shared office once Danny had vacated it, headed off in the direction of the lab.

Now he was standing guard outside their office while Lindsay was inside.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Lindsay and Danny had been dancing around their attraction to each other for well over a year. Obviously, something had happened. And now whatever that 'something' was, it seemed to be over, and it seemed as though Flack was taking a side, and a personal interest.

"This isn't a good idea Flack. He's your friend. She's his… What is she?" Stella asked.

Flack sighed. "She's his ex-something. I don't know." He muttered as he sighed in defeat.

"You have to back off here buddy. Let them work it out. They have to be able to work together and you can't shadow her. They're adults Flack. You aren't responsible for anything that goes on between them." She reminded him.

That was twice now that Flack had heard that in one day.

"I know Stel, but I feel bad. I of all people know how he can be. She blames herself. And she told me she's not ready to face him alone, so I was just tryin' to make it easier." Flack replied, feeling a little bad about giving up her personal information.

Stella felt a pang of compassion for the younger woman. She, along with just about everyone else, knew that the Danny/Lindsay relationship had a very short shelf life. And from the way it sounded, the undoing hadn't been Lindsay's call. She almost walked away and let him return to his post. Almost. But she was their boss for a reason.

"I'm sure, and you're just trying to help, but you have to step back." She told him, knowing that he didn't want to hear it. She knew how he was. He liked to fix things, to fix people, to fix their problems.

He was about to respond but something caught his eye. It was Danny. He was walking down the hall, headed towards the office.

Stella saw him coming too.

"Let him go. Do nothing." She told him sternly, seeing how antsy the young detective was becoming.

He was torn. He knew Stella was right. They had to work together, they had to get through this. He stood back and watched as Danny entered the office.

She was just about done collecting paperwork. She'd been so engrossed in her file cabinet, she didn't notice Flack had vacated the door.

Danny watched her from the door. She must've snuck in when he'd gone down to the lab. Judging by how fast she was moving, she obviously didn't want to be there long.

"Where's the fire?"

Her breath caught in throat.

OK so there's chapter 3… Enjoying? I AM!!


	4. Confrontations and Realizations

Change of Heart

Chapter 4: Confrontations and Realizations

_Oh God… Where is Flack? He was supposed to be watching the door!_

She slowly turned, hoping that, somehow, in the few seconds it would take her to turn around, he would magically disappear.

No such luck.

She was face to face with Danny Messer. She held his eye contact for a moment before turning back to the task at hand.

"No fire. Just getting some of my things together." She replied briskly, returning to her previous task, adding a few more piles to the stack she'd already built,

"Where are you going?" He asked, unable to stop himself.

She stopped what she was doing and looked at him.

"Not that it really concerns you, but I need more space to work. Want to make sure I'm reading the evidence right… You know, not come to any sloppy conclusions." She snapped, her tone laced with sarcasm.

To her credit, Danny visibly winced under the sting of her words. She grabbed the last few things she needed and headed to the door, which he was now standing in front of.

"You're blocking the door." She informed him, her tone flat and low. She was making it very clear that she didn't want to be messed with.

"We need to talk." He retorted, shifting his feet, but still not moving from the door.

"Really, we don't. You did enough talking last night. And now, I'm good with what happened." She told him, attempting to move past him.

_She's good with it??? How can she be 'good' with it?? _

"I'm not." He replied simply.

She shrugged her response. "Not my problem." She reminded him, again trying to get past him. She could just barely see Flack over Danny's left shoulder. She shot him a pleading look.

Flack caught her eye. Danny obviously wasn't letting her out of the room. He wanted to help, he did, but Stella's words were true. They needed to work this out, they needed to get past this.

"I'm sorry for hurting you." Danny went on, clearly trying to engage her attention.

"Really, it's for the best. I wasn't the right girl for you, and you weren't really right for me either. It was never a good idea. It was a mistake, a lapse of judgement, one I won't let happen again." She responded, holding his eye contact the whole time.

To say he was stunned was putting it lightly. He'd expected several responses… But certainly not that one. Flack had said she'd agreed that they never would have worked… But to hear it straight from her… It meant she really didn't want him anymore. That was a new one for him.

She smiled to herself as his expression changed. She'd taken him by surprise. Exactly what he'd done to her.

"That feeling you have right now? The one that makes you feel like you just got punched in the gut? Welcome to my world." She informed him.

She quickly pushed past him, out into the hall. Danny barely noticed she was gone.

She saw Flack at the end of the hall. She turned on her heel and went the other way, not particularly thrilled with him at the moment.

Flack watched her exit the room, briefly gaze in his direction, then take off in the other direction.

Part of him wanted to go after her, but he knew it'd be better if he let her process this on her own. She was a smart girl, she'd understand why he did what he did. She just needed time. At least, that was what he hoped for.

Danny finally snapped out of his haze and stepped out of his office, hoping to see her. All he found was Flack, who was just finishing up a conversation with Stella.

"Hey, you seen Lindsay?" He asked as he got to the detective's side.

Flack shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. "What's up?" He questioned, struggling to maintain neutrality.

"I ran into her a few minutes ago, in the office. I tried to apologize but she brushed me off, said it was for the best, that she wasn't for me and vice versa." Danny explained as they headed down the hall.

"It's not like I didn't tell you almost exactly that this morning." Flack reminded him as they stepped into the break room.

"I know man, but I guess I thought you were exaggerating or something, I didn't really think she actually felt that way… Damn…" He trailed off, still unsure of what he was supposed to be saying or even thinking at that point.

Flack just nodded, stirring his coffee, feeling as though he shouldn't say more, knowing if he did, Danny would start to get suspicious.

A moment later, Danny's pager vibrated to life.

"Gotta go. DB on 9th. Later." He muttered, making his exit.

Flack exhaled, as he was more than thrilled that he was out of that situation. A moment later, he was paged as well. Stella was waiting in interrogation for him. He emptied his cup and strode out of the break room and off to meet Stella.

3 hours later, he was finished with questioning and signing off on some statement related paperwork. It was nearly 4. He hadn't seen Lindsay since she'd ran away from him.

It made him wince just to even think that she actually ran from him. She ran from him like she'd run from Danny and that thought did not sit well with him at all.

_I hope she gets it. I hope she knows that I wasn't trying to hang her out to dry…_

He needed to make it right with her, if only because he needed her to know that he wasn't the kind to bail on someone in need. That he wasn't like Danny, that she shouldn't be afraid of him.

She spent the day in a break room at the other end of the lab, filling out paperwork.

"Thought I'd find you here." A voice came from the door.

"Hey Stel." She greeted, putting pen to paper and signing off another piece of evidential paperwork.

"I heard there was trouble in paradise." The older woman said, pulling out a chair and sitting.

"Who doesn't know by now?" Lindsay retorted with a roll of her eyes.

"Mac… But only because he chooses not to." Stella shot back with a grin.

Lindsay returned her smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Tough day?" Stella asked, her voice soft and full of empathy. She knew how this sort of thing went.

"You could say that. Danny broke it off with me last night. Apparently, I wasn't having a good effect on him. Ran into Flack this morning. He was pretty helpful right up until he hung me out to dry. He was supposed to watch my office door while I ran in to get my paperwork so I didn't have to deal with Danny, but he completely dropped the ball and I had to deal with him… I know he saw me, and he didn't even try to help." Lindsay explained, her voice full of misery.

"Would it make you feel any better if I told you it was my fault? That I'm the one who pulled him away and stopped him?" Stella questioned after a moment.

Lindsay looked up, confusion marring her pretty face.

"You and Danny have to work together, so you have to get over this. And you can't go through your entire career here having Flack guard the door while you run in for paperwork. At some point, you have to be an adult and handle the situation accordingly. So I'm the one who stopped him, who reminded him that this wasn't his business and that he shouldn't be putting himself in the middle of it." Stella told her, hoping the younger woman understood her logic.

Lindsay sat quietly for several moments, processing what she'd just been told. She hadn't realized she was allowing Flack to be in the middle. Truthfully, he shouldn't be involved at all. She'd gotten so caught up in how it affected her and never took a moment to consider what she asking of Flack. 

"You're right Stella. I shouldn't have let it get this far out of hand. It's not his business, it's not his job to fix this. It's between Danny and me. And I should have realized it. I… I'll fix it." She heaved a sigh.

Stella smiled softly. "Atta girl. I knew you had it in you." She said warmly.

Stella stood to leave, stopping at the door before she left. "Linds? A word of warning. Don't start anything you aren't willing to see through." She warned the younger woman, her voice laced with a tone that spoke from experience.

Lindsay wrinkled her brow at the woman, indicating her confusion.

"Just keep it in mind." Stella suggested, tapping the door before disappearing down the hall.

Lindsay nodded and turned back to her paperwork, desperately trying to focus on the job at hand.

He grabbed his coat and headed out, cell phone in hand. He debated calling her and apologizing, but decided against it, figuring it would be best to speak to her in the morning.

So I feel that's a good stopping point! I hope you're enjoying!

REVIEW


	5. Friends

Change of Heart

Chapter 5: Friends?

Lindsay reclined in the soapy water in her bathtub, reaching for the glass of red wine sitting on the ledge next to her. It had been quite a day and now she wanted nothing more than to sit in her bath, finish her book, drink her wine, and go to bed. Tomorrow was Friday, and after that, two days off.

She sighed in relief as she flipped to the next page. But it didn't take but a few lines and her mind had traveled elsewhere…

She felt a bit bad about the position she'd inadvertently put Flack in that day. She hadn't meant to stick him in the middle, and that's exactly what she'd done.

She continued to try to keep him off her mind, but after another 20 minutes, the bubbles were gone, the water was lukewarm and her skin was pruny.

"Time to get out." She muttered. She quickly toweled off and cleaned up the bathroom. Twenty minutes later she climbed in bed, hoping the next day would be better than the one she'd just experienced.

By 7:30 the next morning, Lindsay was dressed and feeling a bit better than she had been the night before. She was wearing her dark denim jeans and a thin pale green T-shirt. Over that she pulled a fitted, shrunken tan blazer. Her hair had dried in its naturally wavy state and she'd gone light on the makeup this time.

She took one last glimpse of herself in the mirror, satisfied with her reflection, she shoved her feet into her favorite boots, grabbed her stuff and headed out the door.

Flack had gotten up early so he could catch Lindsay on her way to work. So he was standing outside her door in jeans, a dark blue long sleeved shirt, sleeves pulled up and his aviator shades. Now he was standing outside her apartment building, shaded by the awning covering the door.

She came strolling out at 8 AM on the nose and he stepped out from under the awning the moment she came into view.

"Flack! God! Don't do that!" She exclaimed, as he'd scared her half to death.

He smiled and held up one of the two coffees he'd been holding. "Sorry. Truce?" He questioned.

She smiled back and took the cup. "Listen… I'm sorry about all this Danny stuff. I should never have put you in the middle like that. You guys are good friends and I put you in a bad position." She told him a few moments into their walk.

He took a long, thoughtful sip as he turned her words over in his head. "I guess it's not really all your fault. I mean, you didn't exactly twist my arm, and last time I checked, I was still an adult. I could've stopped you. I just didn't." He said with a shrug.

She glanced over at him. "Why didn't you?" She questioned, not entirely sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

To this, he shrugged. "Honestly? It never occurred to me. He didn't handle any of this right and this time… It was hard not to get involved." He attempted to explain, but seeing the confused look on her face, it was clear that he'd failed.

"I just mean that with other girls I never got involved because it was none of my business, I didn't really know them… But… I know you… And I know what kind of person you are and I know you deserve to be treated better than that." He clarified, feeling a bit red in the face for explaining himself in such a blatant way.

She was silent for a bit while she tried to digest what he'd said. "You OK?" He finally questioned after a few long moments.

She nodded. "I am… It's just nice that you think that way." She replied softly, unable to look at him.

He smiled a little at her admission. "You know, a lot of people think that. Even Dan." He ventured.

At this, she sighed. "I appreciate what you're trying to do Flack, but I don't want to talk about him, OK? It's enough that I have to work with him and share an office with him. I don't really want to have to think about him outside of work." She told him, smiling in relief when he nodded his head in understanding.

Flack could respect that, he couldn't begin to imagine how difficult it would be for her to work with Danny at the moment.

"I wish I could help… I just don't think I should get involved…" He trailed off, hating that he had to say it.

"NO! You shouldn't! And I never should have let you. That's my fault, really…. You're my colleague and I had no right to put you in that position." She said emphatically, placing her hand on his wrist as she spoke the words.

He glanced down at her hand, wrapped around his forearm. _She sure is a touchy feely kind of girl._

It felt strange, her hand on his bare forearm. It was muscular, she couldn't even get her whole hand around it.

"I could be more than just your colleague you know…" He trailed off, a teasing smile on his face.

She felt her heart leap into her throat. _What is he saying? He can't be saying what I think he's saying… No he's not saying that…_ She let go of his arm, as if she'd been burned.

He'd be lying if he wasn't satisfied by the small amount of shock that crossed her face at his suggestion. It meant something, but he wasn't exactly sure what and if he even really wanted to know…

"How about letting me be your friend? You know, hang out after work, grab a beer, talk about things besides DNA and RNA, finger prints, suspects and so on. Work for you?" He asked, smiling still.

For some reason, when he finished his sentence, her heart dropped a little, like she was disappointed and she wasn't really sure why. But nonetheless, his offer was genuine and kind and well, she could use a friend.

"That sounds good. I think I need a friend." She replied, happy that he wanted the job.

TWO WEEKS LATER

"Hey, Laura Ingalls, whenever you're done making mud pies, I'm waiting." Flack called from the door of the lab.

Lindsay looked up from the soil she was sifting through and rolled her eyes at him, doing her best to ignore the little leap in her heart at the appearance of the homicide detective. "At least I'm willing to get dirty." She shot back.

Danny had been working with his evidence one table over and kept to himself, just listening to their interaction.

"Whatever, I get dirty every day." Flack returned, a small grin pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Yeah and you complain about it every day. I know you tried to get the lab to pay your dry cleaning bill." She teased back.

Danny felt his insides burn with envy at their casual interaction. He knew that tone. He used to love that tone. Now he and Lindsay barely spoke about anything besides work. Now she and Flack were practically best friends. To say he was jealous would be putting it mildly.

He hadn't even known they were friends until recently. And from what he heard and saw, they usually got together a couple times a week and usually once on the weekend. He'd even overhead Flack telling Hawkes that he and Lindsay played pool on a league together. _POOL! _He didn't like that she played pool with Flack… Every time he thought about it he wondered if their games ended the way his and Lindsay's had….

The image of Flack and Lindsay having sex on a pool table was enough of a distraction for him to drop the vial of fluid he'd been holding in his left hand. It fell, smashing to bits on the linoleum.

Lindsay and Flack both jumped at the sound and turned to see what happened.

"Got it, slippery fingers." Danny called their way, not even bothering to make eye contact.

Lindsay turned back to Flack. She shrugged and stripped off her gloves, dropping them in the trash. She quickly scribbled her findings in the log and packed away the evidence.

"Can we go now? I'm starving." Flack whined as he followed Lindsay out of the lab.

"When aren't you starving?" She questioned jokingly, her voice floating back to the lab, where Danny was still crouched down, cleaning up the pieces of broken glass.

_I can't take this anymore. He can't do this to me. We're friends, we were friends long before her. He can't just dump me for her and not give me any reason!_

Danny stood, quickly emptying the pieces of the broken vial into the trash. Then he yanked off his gloves and tossed them too. He pushed out of the lab and went looking for Flack.

He found the detective standing outside the locker room, waiting for Lindsay.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Danny asked, struggling to keep from losing his temper.

"What's up Messer?" Flack questioned genially.

"What are you tryin' to do here man? Since when are you friends with Lindsay??" Danny hissed, unable to keep the anger out of his voice.

"Dan, seriously? We aren't in high school, and since when do I need to run potential friends by you?" Flack shot back, his hands on his hips.

"Since one of them is my ex!" Danny returned, lifting his chin to look directly at the taller man.

Unbeknownst to both of them, Lindsay had been 2 seconds from pushing through the door to the locker room when she heard their voices. She knew she shouldn't be listening, but upon hearing her name, she wasn't able to resist eavesdropping.

"I don't get you Messer. I'm not the only one she hangs out with, you know. She goes out with Stella too. And her and Hawkes eat lunch together all the time. Why aren't you jumping their ass about talking to her?!!" Flack demanded, making a startlingly good point.

"They aren't my best friends. You are. And this isn't right. You don't become friends with your best friend's ex. You know that Flack. You're just doing this because you wanna get in her pants!" Danny exclaimed, but even as he spoke the last sentence, he knew he'd crossed the line.

Flack took two steps toward the smaller man and a moment later Danny found himself pressed up against the wall, Flack right in his face.

"You don't want to do this Danny, I promise you. You know better than to even begin to say something like that about her. Walk away Messer, while you still can." Flack growled, his tone low and fierce.

Danny returned the stare for a second and then moved away as Flack backed off. "Forget it. Obviously loyalty and honesty don't mean shit to you." Danny snapped and turned on his heel and headed back to the lab.

Flack turned and found himself eye to eye with Lindsay.

"I'm guessing you heard." Flack stated, not even bothering to think that she didn't.

"Sort of hard not to, but you didn't need to say any of that, you aren't supposed to get involved." She reminded him as they walked toward the elevator.

"Yeah but I didn't start this. He did. And so I ended it. I'm not trying to sound juvenile here, just trying to be honest." He defended as they stepped onto the elevator.

"Relax, I'm not upset with you or anything. Actually, I should probably thank you, for standing up for my honor and all." She said, leaning over and lightly bumping up against him, trying to get a smile out of him.

It worked. He gave her a grin and wrapped a loose arm around her shoulders. She looked down, feeling slightly embarrassed by his action. Being that close to a man like him… She quickly shook the thought from her mind. It wasn't going to happen, she shouldn't even be thinking about it.

"C'mon, I'm dyin' of starvation here." He told her and they stepped out of the lab and headed across the street.

REVIEW

Seemed like a good stopping point. Don't worry, things'll start heating up really soon…


	6. Mandatory Date

This chapter is set around the end of September/beginning of October.

Change of Heart

Chapter 6: Mandatory Date

THREE WEEKS LATER

Flack strode into the precinct at 8 am on Monday morning, tossing his bag over his chair and plopping down, already eying the stack of files piling up on his desk.

He turned to his computer and opened his email, letting it load while he sifted through his paperwork.

He glanced over at the screen and when his eye caught site of the heading of the top email, he groaned.

He reluctantly moused over to it and opened the offensive email.

**TO: Everyone**

**FROM: Chief Ronald Miller**

**SUBJECT: Annual Policeman's Ball**

**Good Afternoon-**

**As you all are aware, the Policeman's Ball is this coming Saturday. This year, attendance is to be MANDATORY, due to lack of support in previous years. Attendance is considered respectful and honorable and not going will result in disciplinary actions. As always, you are allowed to bring a date. Attire is black tie. Please respond with your date's name by Wednesday.**

**Thank you,**

**Chief Ronald Miller**

**NYPD**

**Precinct 12**

"Mandatory?" He muttered aloud, running a hand down his face. He'd never gone to one of these before, they'd always been optional. And now he had two days to find a date or face all his co-workers, alone.

_Yeah, that's definitely not an option._ But a date in two days? Even he wasn't sure if he was that good.

He closed the email, still debating the date situation when his eyes landed on another email.

**TO: Don Flack**

**FROM: Lindsay Monroe **

**SUBJECT: 7th Ave. Shooting**

**Hey-**

**I think we have a suspect, we got a hit in AFIS on Alan Kenfest, he's done time for a smash and grab job and assault. Mac wants me to bring him in for questioning but wants me to take a uniform with me. Naturally I thought of Jen, but since she's not around, I guess you'll do. Pick me up at 9? Bring coffee. Lots. No food, I'll die. COFFEE!!**

**L**

He smiled a little as he realized his date problem might be solved.

**TO: Lindsay Monroe **

**FROM: Don Flack **

**SUBJECT: RE: 7th Ave. Shooting**

**Well well well… You are alive. Is the country girl tired? Thought you could hang with the big boys. Late night last night? Somebody keep you up? Was he good?**

**Don**

He grabbed his glasses and his book, happy to be leaving the pile of cases behind. He grabbed the keys to his truck and was gone.

He pulled up to the crime lab 30 minutes later, after a brief stop at their usual coffee vendor, getting her a coffee and him as well.

He stepped off the elevator on the 19th floor and made his way to Lindsay and Danny's office.

Things really hadn't improved much between the three of them. All conversations where Danny was involved were strictly case/work related.

He stepped into her office, nodded to Danny, who barely nodded back. Lindsay looked up and smiled.

"For the record, he was awful… I can't even remember his name. I think it might've been Dave… Or Dan… No, wait, I think it was Don." She teased back as she grabbed her jacket and grabbed for the coffee in his hand.

"Take it back." He demanded, holding the coffee out of her reach as they left the office.

"I speak only the truth!" She shot back, still reaching. He just shook his head, a grin on his face.

A moment later, a light bulb flipped on in her head. He saw something pass through her eyes and before he could react, she'd snatched the car keys out of his suit pocket.

"Coffee or I drive." She told him, swinging the keys in front of him.

He hated when she drove. She knew he hated when she drove. He lowered his hand and she tossed him the keys as she snatched her coffee off the tray. With that, they stepped onto the elevator.

"They've gotten awfully close." Stella remarked to Hawkes as the two of them watched the playful pair disappear.

Hawkes looked up, watching them from the glassed in lab.

"They get together all the time. I see them leave together a few times a week. They play on a pool league together too." Hawkes reported.

"Wow…You don't think they're… You know?" Stella asked as she adjusted a slide under her microscope.

"Not yet. Give it time." Hawkes replied, noting the information on his computer screen.

"Yeah but him and Danny are best friends. You don't think he'd do that to him, do you?" Stella asked as she straightened and put the microscope to the side.

"Him and Danny are barely talking these days. Danny made some blasé comment about Lindsay and Flack had him up against the wall, and they haven't really spoken since." Hawkes reported.

Stella laughed a little. "What?" Hawkes asked, not sure why she was giggling at his words.

"You're worse than a woman. You're the office gossip!" She explained through her gossip.

"Hey, I'm just the messenger, I get all my info from Adam." Hawkes defended.

"Even better!" Stella crowed as she laughed harder. Hawkes just shook his head, laughing a bit himself as he walked out of the lab.

Flack's eyes slid over to Lindsay, who was reading the file with one hand and clutching her coffee with the other.

"Gonna make it Monroe?" He asked teasingly.

"I'd throw this on you if I didn't need it so much." She retorted, taking a long pull from her coffee.

_Just do it. Ask her. It's no big deal._

He cleared his throat as he eased to a stop at a red light.

"So the Policeman's Ball is this weekend. They made it mandatory this year." He ventured, still grimacing at the concept of mandatory.

"Not into the ball huh?" She asked, grinning at him as she closed the file.

"Not so much, but I have to go now… So… We can bring a date…." He trailed off, hoping she'd get the message.

"You could always ask Jen, I'm sure she's available." Lindsay suggested, unknowingly going the opposite way that he was hoping she'd go.

He swallowed his pride. "I could… But I sort of had someone else in mind." He confessed, not making eye contact with her.

_I don't think I want to hear this… WAIT! Why don't I want to hear this??? Why do I care???? Oh no… This isn't… This can't… No._

"Oh?" She finally managed to spit out.

"Yeah… You." He told her, figuring the best way to tell her was just to come right out and say it.

_Oh my god… Did he just…? Why? Wait, did he really…?_

"Me?" She squeaked out, fairly convinced that he'd misspoken.

"Yeah. It'll be a good time. We'll eat, drink, dance, drink, we probably won't dance, but drink, oh and I'll get to see you in a dress." He teased, giving her a sly smile.

_He's flirting with me. I think he's flirting with me. Maybe he's not. But why does it feel like he is? No, he's not… No way…_

"Count me in. Pick me up at 7." She instructed him.

"I have to pick you up? You can't just meet me there?" He whined, obviously kidding.

"I'll just pretend I didn't hear that." She shot back as they pulled up to the suspect's apartment.

He gave her a grin. "Don't worry Monroe. I know how to treat a woman. I have manners. And if you're good, I just might let you see them." He teased as they headed towards the building.

Lindsay was shocked at the small fluttering of butterflies in her stomach. _That can't be good._ She did her best to quell the feeling before slipping back into work mode.

They had their guy in custody within minutes and shoved him into the back of the waiting police car before heading back to the precinct.

The guy caved almost immediately, making it an open and shut case for Lindsay.

"Nice work Linds." Flack congratulated as he signed off on his part of the file, before handing it over to her to be processed.

"Thanks, but I can't take all the credit. Thanks for your help." She told him as she turned to head back to her office.

She'd made it all of two steps before his voice stopped her.

"It's black tie, so you know, do your girlie thing… Just try not to upstage me, OK?" He teased.

She laughed over her shoulder. "Oh please… By the end of the night, they won't even remember your name!"

REVIEW

Next chapter is the ball.


	7. In Which Lindsay Decides

Change of Heart

Change of Heart

Chapter 7: In Which Lindsay Decides to Make a Statement

Lindsay woke up at 10 am the morning of the ball. She laid there for a few minutes, allowing the excitement to overtake her for a moment. She refused to admit it to anyone but herself, but she was secretly thrilled at the prospect of spending the evening with Flack.

She threw her feet over the bed and grabbed her robe before heading to the closet.

She threw open her closet and pulled out her emerald green dress, the one she'd worn to the opera.

She grabbed her black shoes and laid them out on the bed.

But no sooner had she lain it out that she realized Flack had seen her in that dress, the night she'd worked the subway surfer case with Danny. And if memory served, he'd even made a comment.

_Flashback_

_Lindsay was making her way back to her office when she nearly ran right into Flack, mostly because her nose was buried in the file. _

"_Whoa… Helps to keep your eyes forward when you're walkin'." Flack had told her as he'd grabbed her arms to steady her._

_  
She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, just trying to get all this done." She responded as she moved around him._

"_Hey Monroe? Nice dress. Green is good on you."_

_End Flashback_

"Well, I definitely can't wear it now." She decided aloud. She quickly stuffed the dress back in the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater.

5 minutes later, she headed out into the bustle of a New York Saturday morning, intent on finding a dress that would make a statement. What that statement was, well, she wasn't entirely sure.

Three hours and four stores later, Lindsay stood on the sidewalk outside Nordstrom's, frantically trying to hail a cab and hold all her bags at the same time. She glanced at her watch._ If I don't catch a cab right now, I am going to be so late!_

5 minutes later, her prayers were answered and she stuffed herself and her new dress into a cab, firing off her address as she slammed the door.

An hour later she was home and fresh out of the shower. Her nerves were starting to kick into high gear now, the butterflies in her stomach felt like they were about to burst out of her abdomen. _You can't be nervous about this. It's Flack… It's not even a date. It's a favor for a friend._

Her little inner pep talk did nothing to quell her nerves, try as she might. When it was all said and done, it might've just been a favor in Flack's eyes… But in hers…._ I don't even want to think about it._

She quickly toweled off and set about blow drying and styling her hair. She pinned it back into a messy bun with pieces falling around her face, not a look she wore often.

As soon as that was finished and she was satisfied, she started on her makeup. Normally, her everyday look took about 10 minutes tops. But the theme for the night was different. So she went with it and about 20 minutes later, she'd gotten exactly what she'd wanted. Different, a bit more dramatic, but not over the top. She smiled at her reflection.

She turned off the light in the bathroom and headed to her bedroom.

She came face to face with the intimidating garment bag hanging on her door.

The dress scared her, plain and simple. It had taken the saleslady almost 30 minutes to convince her to even try it on and another hour to convince her she should buy it.

She tentatively stepped over to the dress bag and slowly unzipped it, revealing the dress.

_You can do this. It's just a dress. Put it on. It won't bite._

She unzipped the dress and stepped into it, refusing to look in the mirror until she was fully clothed.

As soon as the dress was in place, she strode to her jewelry box, pulling out her diamonds. Her mother had given them to her on her 21st birthday. Small diamond droplet earrings, a single small diamond on a silver chain and a diamond studded bracelet.

They'd belonged to her mother and Lindsay rarely wore them, partially because she rarely dressed up and partially because she was terrified of losing them. She fastened everything and slipped her feet into her new shoes. She'd been bold and had bought a pair of 4" red pointed toe stiletto heels. She turned and slowly approached her full length mirror.

Her mouth fell open at the sight in front of her. She practically fell to her knees to thank the saleslady.

The dress was black and corset style, cinched in at the waist. Thin straps and a slim fitting skirt ended right above her knees.

The woman staring back at her was very definitely not the Lindsay she'd been expecting. She was one hundred times better.

She couldn't take her eyes off the mirror, she was transfixed by her own appearance. In fact, she was so transfixed, that the buzzing of the door caused her to nearly jump out of her skin. A moment after that, she panicked.

She spun on her heel, quickly grabbing her favorite bottle of perfume, spritzing it on as she grabbed for her new shimmery black bag and light weight black cardigan.

She approached the door, reminding herself not to run as her heart practically pounded out of her chest. _In through the nose, out through the mouth._

She repeated that over and over in her head until her hand turned the knob.

Flack had been a bundle of nervous energy all afternoon, for many reasons. He'd found out that morning that Danny was going to be at the event, he'd been invited by Jenn. _Yeah, that's not gonna be awkward at all…_

And then, about an hour before he was supposed to pick Lindsay up, he realized he should probably bring her something, like maybe flowers, or chocolate.

He quickly dismissed the ideas of chocolate, mostly because he only gave chocolates to his mother, on Valentine's Day.

So he'd stood in the florist for an hour before walking out empty handed, because all the flowers seemed too "date-like" and this wasn't a date. At least, not the kind of date that required big bouquets of red or white roses.

_Maybe I just won't bring anything. It feels kind of weird bringing a gift anyways…_

But, not too long after he'd left his house to pick her up, he'd begun to feel bad. She was doing him a favor by going with him, he should do something for her. _What do I get for a girl I'm not dating?_

He found a parking spot about a block from her apartment and started the walk to her building. With each step he took, he felt worse for showing up empty handed.

But as he turned the corner, he was greeted by a street vendor selling sunflowers and a light bulb went off in his head. Maybe flowers weren't such a bad idea… Sure, roses were too romantic, but not sunflowers…. _Perfect. Very Lindsay._

He quickly bought 3 and had the man trim them down and tie them with a blue ribbon.

He headed into her apartment building feeling much better about his choice of a 'thank you' gift.

He knocked on her door and waited. He heard her moving around inside, and after another moment, her footsteps approached the door. What was surprising was the attack of nerves he was having. _It's Linds, this is not a person I should be nervous about._

She threw open the door and he very nearly dropped the bouquet. This woman… This was not Lindsay…. This was a woman that looked a lot like Lindsay, but she was… She was…

He cleared his throat, fighting the urge to run a finger under his collar as his blue eyes traveled from her legs to her head and back down again, before landing on her smiling face. After a moment, he stepped forward, thrusting the flowers at her.

"These are for you… You know, as a thank you, for doing this for me." He explained, feeling the heat rising in his cheeks.

She rewarded his act of kindness with a bright smile. "Don! You didn't have to get me anything. No thanks is necessary! We're friends, remember?" She reminded him as she took the flowers and headed off to the kitchen.

_No. No I don't remember. I can't remember anything at all when you're dressed like that._

But he wouldn't dare allow himself to even begin to say something like that.

She grabbed a vase out of the cabinet in the kitchen and filled it with water, pushing down the feeling of disappointment at his lack of noticing her outfit. _Oh well, I mean, it isn't a date, he doesn't have to think or tell me I look pretty._

"Yeah, but tonight, you're not 'Lindsay the friend.' You're 'Lindsay the date.' And I don't like to show up to a girl's home empty handed… Even if said girl is wearing an outfit that's going to show me up." He teased, feeling a little more at ease as she laughed.

"Oh, now don't be sad. You look pretty too." She told him as she went to pull her cardigan on.

But he took it from her hands, holding it open for her. "I can do this. It's my job." He told her, his fingers just brushing the nape of her neck as she pushed her arms through. She did her best to ignore the tingles that shot down her spine at the feeling of his fingers just brushing against the sensitive hairs on her neck.

"Thanks." She told him once she'd turned back around.

He offered her a smile. She started to walk by him, but he reached out, resting his hand on her arm.

She waited for him to say whatever it was that had caused him to stop her from moving forward, doing her best to ignore the tingling on her arm where his large hand was clasping it. _Stop it, you're not 12. A man should be able to touch your arm without making you all tingly._

"I should've said this before but I guess I was a little blindsided… You look… I can't… I mean… You're just stunning… I didn't know you could look like this. I mean, you're a pretty girl… And I mean… Christ, this isn't coming out right." He muttered, obviously embarrassed.

A second later, her small hand clamped over his mouth. "Stop. I get it. I'm pretty. Thank you. Anymore talking and your compliment will turn into an insult." She kidded, smiling teasingly at him. She didn't dare let on that she was practically jumping up and down on the inside. _He did notice… He noticed and he thinks I look pretty._

"Good point." Came his muffled response, as her hand was still over his mouth.

"If I take my hand away, promise not to try to compliment me anymore?" She questioned, her tone slightly mocking.

"Yes." Came his response.

"I dunno… That wasn't very convincing… Maybe you should try it again- OW!!" She screeched, cutting herself off as she yanked her hand away from his mouth.

He laughed as she inspected her finger. "I can't believe you bit me!" She exclaimed, causing him to chuckle even more.

"Well, someone was getting too big for her britches… " _Or should I say, her incredibly hot dress…._

"Let's go." She ordered, smacking him with her purse as they made their exit.

The ride over to the banquet hall was quiet but not uncomfortably so. She tried hard not to stare at her date for the evening. He'd always looked good in a suit, no question. But a tux? _Wow… Maybe he should wear that every day… Maybe not… I'd probably end up following him around like a lost puppy…_

"Hey… Angel, you with me?" His words broke through her decidedly inappropriate train of thought. She turned to him and realized they'd arrived.

"Sorry! Yes. I was just off in my own little world." She replied, feeling a little silly.

"Next time, how 'bout an invite so I'm not so lost?" He suggested playfully as two valets approached the car. One held the door for her while the other one took the keys from Flack.

"Fancy party. I feel a little underdressed." She confessed as they entered the main room, her eyes scanning the crowd anxiously.

_As far as I'm concerned… She's overdressed… Though…Anymore skin showing and I might have to kill myself…_

"Don't say that. Everyone else is overdressed. You're perfect." He teased. She rolled her eyes and pushed away the slight jump of elation in her stomach.

"Let's find our table." She suggested and he followed her, but not without noticing the appreciative glances she was getting. He quickly quickened his pace, closing the distance between the two of them, even going as far as to rest a hand on the small of her back, making sure everyone who was looking knew she was with him.

She tried her best to ignore the warmth radiating from the feeling of his fingertips on her back. He was just guiding her to the table, nothing unusual about that. _I have got to stop reading into this kind of thing!_

They found their table, quickly discovering they were the first ones to arrive. "I'll grab drinks. You want your usual?" He asked, not thinking twice about the fact that he knew what she drank.

She nodded her agreement and he set off for the bar. No sooner had he gotten there, several of his buddies were on him.

"So…. Who's the brunette?" Ericson questioned, sidling up, beer in hand.

"Detective Monroe…. From the crime lab." Flack answered as he ordered, keeping his answer short and to the point.

"No way! That's the country girl?!" Anders asked, obviously shocked by her appearance.

"Wait, isn't she with Messer??" Dave Grimble interjected.

Flack rolled his eyes at the gossip fest. "No, not anymore. They broke up." He reluctantly revealed, knowing that sometimes it was just easier to play their game.

"Oh yeah? Tell him that. He's looking mighty comfortable over there." Ericson retorted, pointing in the direction of Flack and Lindsay's table.

Sure enough, there was Danny, and he was sitting right next to Lindsay, his face inches from hers. She was leaning away, her eyes desperately scanning the crowd. _She's looking for me._

He took off for the table, abandoning his drinks. Half way there, Angell met up with him. "Where've you been?" He asked as they made their way to the table.

"Bathroom. Why? And why are we walking so fast?" She questioned, holding her dress up to keep stride with him.

He didn't say anything, just pointed at the table they were fast approaching.

Angell quickly put two and two together. "So that's why he agreed to come with me. I should've known… It was a little strange that he said he'd come AFTER I told him you were bringing Lindsay." She finished moments before they hit the table.

Lindsay had relief written all over her face when he came striding up to the table. Flack offered her a wink and a smile. The music struck up a moment later.

"Danny. C'mon. Let's dance." Jenn said, practically dragging him onto the floor.

"What did he say?" Flack asked as he sat down next to her, signaling a waiter, intent on ordering the drinks he'd abandoned at the bar.

"He told me I shouldn't be here with you, that I'm busting up a friendship. Am I doing that? Did I really ruin your friendship?" She asked, the concern evident in her voice.

He took in her expression. She was serious. He scooted his chair a little closer. "Listen, you didn't do anything wrong. We are all adults and nowhere is it written that I can't be friends with you and with him. He chose to behave this way, that's not your fault and he shouldn't have made you feel like that." Flack told her, his tone uncharacteristically sincere, she hadn't expected him to be so… thoughtful about it.

She nodded her response and sipped on her newly delivered drink. She honestly didn't know what to say, she hadn't exactly expected that sort of response. She turned back to the main floor, hoping the slightly awkward moment would pass. _He said 'friend'… He called me his 'friend'… All of this and I'm his 'friend'?_

She moved her attention to the crowded dance floor and watched the couples, some of them lost in the music, some of them lost in each other… Dancing was such an intimate thing… Bodies pressed up against each other, each learning the curves of the other… It was almost like foreplay…_ Dangerous territory Linds… Back away slowly…_

Lindsay turned to Flack, intent on ignoring the dancing going on behind her. But he was standing, offering a hand. "Let's go. I don't dance often but I can tell you want to… So let's do this." He insisted, offering her a small smile, nodding his head towards the dance floor.

"Flack, really… It's not necessary…" She explained, positive she was red in the face by this point.

"You've been watching everyone else dance for the last 15 minutes. I've been watching you watch them. It's kind of sad. Stand up." He instructed her, not giving her an option.

He was rewarded with a huge smile and her small hand slipping into his larger one.

He led her onto the floor and swiftly pulled her to him.

The sensation of his body up against hers caused her to gasp a little. His left hand was wrapped around her right, and he was holding it up against his chest. His other arm was at her waist, his fingers curled around her hip, sending tingles down her spine.

She breathed in his cologne and nearly lost her footing. Male cologne… GOOD male cologne, was one of her weaknesses. The combination of his lean body and fantastic smell was invading her senses and breaking down her will power. _I can't have feelings for him… He's Flack… He's my friend… My very hot friend… My very hot friend who's holding me really closely…_

Flack felt his body humming with excitement as he wrapped an arm around her waist. She fit into his arms nicely. Like two puzzle pieces, in fact. Her head came just below his chin. He allowed himself to breathe in her scent, a coconut shampoo and a soft perfume. Her body was soft under his hands. It took every ounce of will power not to run his hand from the dip in her waist to the slight swell of her hips. He was a sucker for curves and Lindsay definitely had them.

He could feel his fingers itching to touch her… Granted, they were touching now… But he wanted to feel her bare skin under his fingers.

_Good God…What the hell am I thinking!? This is Lindsay! This girl is doing me a favor by being here… And I'm practically chomping at the bit to tear her dress off and maul her!_

"You never mentioned you were good at this." She whispered in his ear, breaking through his thoughts, her breath tickling his ear.

His hand involuntarily tightened around her waist, his fingers lightly splayed across the curve of her waist.

"You never asked." He retorted, his voice low and deep, sending chills down her spine.

Her left hand, which had been resting on his shoulder, traveled a little farther up, her fingertips barely brushing against his neck.

His nerves were sparking with anticipation. He bit back a hiss of frustration and settled for gripping her hand a little tighter. This was fast getting out of hand and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to put a stop to it….

A moment later, the song ended and Lindsay broke from his embrace. His body went cold almost immediately. A beat after that, another song started up. The opening to 'The Way I Are' by Timbaland filled the room.

She'd barely made it two steps before a strong hand came down her arm. "I don't think so. You wanted to dance. We're dancing." Flack told her as he pulled her back to him.

"We just danced." She protested over the music.

He shook his head. "That was not dancing, that was swaying to music that really, wasn't music. This, this is music." He told her, his hands on her arms as he pulled her back to the crowd. He watched as her eyes briefly locked with Danny's from across the room.

Danny broke the eye contact first and shifted his gaze to Flack, almost as if he was challenging the taller man. Flack just rolled his eyes and pulled Lindsay to him.

"This is the perfect opportunity to forget him." He whispered in her ear as he pulled her back toward him.

_He's right. I do need to forget. And I can't think of a better way to do that then to dance with a very nice looking detective…_

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to get lost in the music.

Flack was surprised at her ability to move. He wasn't a bad dancer but she moved well. His fingers were dying to touch her but he was afraid. Her back was to him and she barely brushed against him and his whole body was standing at attention.

_Screw this. I'm an adult and so is she. If it really bothers her that much, she'll tell me to stop._

With that last thought, he reached out with his left arm and pulled her against him, his fingers resting right between her hip bone and her flat abdomen.

Her blood boiled in anticipation at the feeling of his body up against her. His right hand grabbed hold of hers and they moved together, fueling each other's need to feel more.

He wasn't sure if it was the music, the alcohol or just her, but he was incredibly turned on by the woman rubbing up against him. He leaned down and brushed the tiniest of kisses to the spot right between her neck and her shoulder.

She didn't respond, she didn't do anything, she just kept dancing. He'd expected a reaction of some sort. After several more moments, the song ended.

She stepped away from him, her back still to him. He took a quick step forward, his hand on her arm. "I'm sorry Linds. That wasn't OK." He told her, obviously feeling bad.

She turned, her eyes dark and devilish. "That was much more than OK." She teased and turned around, heading towards the bar, leaving him standing there, a little surprised at her response.

_What does that even mean? What do I say? Am I supposed to do something else? Does that mean she wants me?_

He didn't stand there long, the way she looked, she'd have men all over her in an instant.

He quickly followed her to the bar, only to discover his instincts had been right. She was already flanked by a few men as she ordered a beer for him and a whiskey for herself.

He swiftly pushed his way through the crowd and stepped between the men circling her.

"Excuse me gentlemen, are you harassing my date?" He asked, taking his rightful spot beside her.

"Only if she wants me to." One of them teased, not even bothering to make eye contact with Flack, instead staring right at Lindsay.

He leaned down, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "If he says one more asinine thing like that, I'm going to hit him and ruin this fancy party." Flack whispered in her ear.

She smiled at his comment and turned back to the man who'd previously addressed her.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not much for harassment, and I don't think you're much for pain, so you should probably walk away." She told him and swiftly turned back to the bar, leaning up against it.

"Happy?" She asked laughingly as Flack grinned at her.

He wrapped an arm around her waist as he took his beer. "Deleriously." He shot back, squeezing her side as they made their way back to the table.

"Do you think you should be touching me…? I mean, Danny's at the table and…. Well…" She trailed off as Danny came into her line of sight.

"Is that just your way of telling me you don't like when I touch you?" He asked teasingly into her ear. _Oh my god… Did I just say that? I wasn't supposed to say that. Maybe she didn't hear me…_

"I hardly think that's the issue, though if I had to guess, I'd say you enjoyed it just as much as I did, if not more." She teased right back, meeting his bright blue eyes with her excitement filled brown ones.

He very nearly dropped his drink as her statement. A moment later, she felt herself being yanked into a nearby hallway.

"What exactly is going on here?? You're my friend. Or at least I thought you were. But I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to want to yank my friend's dress off and… And do… Do things to her that I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to do with a friend." He exclaimed as he paced the hall in front of her.

"Well, that makes two of us." She muttered back in response as she leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes.

"So this isn't just me?? You feel it too." He summarized as he slowed his pacing.

"Oh yeah… I'm sure this isn't good… How did this even happen…?" She groaned out.

"I'm not sure how, but I know the why, or at least part of it." He muttered to himself, obviously not expecting her to hear.

"Go ahead, elaborate." She said, breaking him out of his daze.

He turned a bit red at her statement. "Well… Linds, you're an amazing woman, no one would argue that. But that dress… That sort of sealed the deal for me. Not only are you intelligent and kind, but you can pull off an outfit like that… Well, you can't blame me is all I'm saying, and no man in there would even begin to disagree with me." He admitted, rubbing his head self consciously.

She pushed herself off the wall and intentionally stepped into his personal space.

"Well, when a man like you puts on a tux like that and rubs himself up against me… You can't blame me and I dare you to find a woman to disagree." She retorted.

He visibly swallowed as she moved close enough to feel the heat radiating between them.

"Linds, you've got, like, 2 seconds to back up or I'm gonna do what I've wanted to do all night." He warned her, his blue eyes darkening with want.

"I'm not going anywhere." She whispered, her own eyes glinting in the dimly lit hall.

In two steps he had her pinned against the wall, one hand around her waist, the other on the base of her neck.

His lips were on hers in an instant. This wasn't a soft sweet kiss. It was passionate and hot as his tongue entered her mouth without any protest on her part as she ran her hands up his chest and grabbed the lapels of his jacket, pushing her body against his.

His hand, which had previously been around her waist, traveled down to her ass, cupping it and pulling her impossibly closer to him.

"We gotta stop before I turn into a horny teenager." He muttered in between kisses.

"Stop? Are you insane??" She demanded, now kissing his neck.

He panted a bit at the feeling of her teeth on his neck. "I didn't mean stop…. I meant take it somewhere else." He corrected himself, gritting his teeth a bit at her tongue now flicking his ear.

"Yeah, like his apartment." A voice came from behind them. They both knew who it was.

_Damnit Danny._

They both froze. A moment later, they heard his footsteps head back to the party.

Don dropped his head onto her shoulder.

"This is so bad." He muttered into her neck.

"You're tellin' me." She replied, heaving a sigh of frustration.

And that's it for this chapter…


	8. Just Colleagues

Change of Heart

Chapter 8: Just Colleagues

He dropped his head to her shoulder and heaved a huge sigh.

"This can't be good." He muttered into her neck.

She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.

"It isn't." She agreed softly.

His hands were still firmly placed on her hips. A moment later, he brought his head up and met her eyes.

"This is ridiculous. You and Danny never even really dated. We really shouldn't feel bad about this." He told her, his voice quiet, his eyes holding hers.

"But we do." She responded miserably.

"We do." He echoed, his hands still grasping her sides.

"I didn't think it would go down like this… I don't know if I can do this to him… Maybe we should just try being colleagues again…" He said at last, not really liking the sound of that but there wasn't much else he could come up with.

She nodded, not really trusting herself to speak. That was the absolute last thing she wanted to hear at that moment.

_Go back to just colleagues? Nothing more? We can't even be friends?!_

A moment later, she realized his hands were still on her hips and colleagues didn't touch each other this way.

She pulled his hands off her waist and stepped away.

"If you think it's for the best, that's fine. Thank you for being honest with me, detective." She replied coolly.

He winced at the formality evident in her voice.

"Linds…" He trailed off, already hating the thought of her calling him anything other than Don.

"You said this was how you wanted it, I'm just playing by the rules."

She was right. He had said this was what he wanted. She was playing by the rules.

She gave him one last lingering look, turned on her heel and hurried out of the hall.

They barely spoke for 2 weeks.

Not until they both caught the same case almost 3 weeks into their incredibly uncomfortable situation.

She'd never admit it to anyone, but the reversion back to being "just colleagues" had been much harder than she'd anticipated.

Turns out, he'd kind of become a big part of her life for the past 6 weeks. And now he wasn't. It all had just stopped. No more daily emails, no more text messages, no meeting for lunch, drinks after work, all of it, gone. And it sucked.

And now she had to work with him. She'd managed to avoid him for almost 3 weeks and Mac had finally cornered her at 4:40 on a Friday afternoon.

"2 DB's over on West 75th." He informed her, dropping the file on her desk.

She nodded, flipping through the papers inside.

"We're backed up tonight, so it's just you and Flack. It's gonna be a long one." He finished off before walking out the door.

She opened her mouth to protest but he was already gone.

Danny glanced over at Ms. Doom and Gloom and noticed her displeasure at her assignment.

"What's wrong? You and the boyfriend having problems?" He snarked.

She closed her eyes and gripped the file in her hands as tightly as she could. She had taken a lot of crap from Danny Messer over this whole ordeal with Flack but at that moment in time, she'd had enough and she was finally ready to fight back.

She stood abruptly, sending her chair skidding into the wall behind her. She marched over to Danny's desk and leaned over, placing her hands right in the middle of his paperwork and lowered herself to his eye level.

"You know, you have absolutely no right to anything at all about any of this. It's none of your business. You and I, we never dated. We slept together, that's it. That's all, nothing more, you made that perfectly clear. It could've been more but you couldn't deal with that. And you know what, that's fine. But that doesn't give you the right to ruin things for me! All I want is someone to care about me, Danny, that's it. And you ruined that. So now, because of you, the person that was trying to care about me, doesn't even want to talk to me anymore. So I hope you're happy. You got exactly what you wanted. Now I'm just as miserable as you."

She turned on her heel and stormed out of the office, leaving Danny in a stunned silence. He knew she was a fighter but he hadn't expected to have his ass handed to him on a platter.

"Hope you're proud of yourself." A voice said from the hallway.

"Why am I not surprised to see you?" He questioned as Stella stepped into the room.

"When are you guys going to catch on? I see and hear everything. Which is why I know you need to fix this." She explained as she sat down across from Danny.

"You know, I still don't see why this is my fault. They should have never been considering it to begin with. Why am I so wrong?" He whined.

"Because you broke it. Because she deserves to be with someone who cares about her and you ruined it and that wasn't your place. You gave up the right to say anything when you told her you didn't want her. So you can't fault her for going out and trying to find happiness. And yeah, ok, it sucks that she was finding it with your best friend, but you didn't even try to deal with it, and you know they would have never flaunted it in front of you but you just couldn't resist. And you succeeded. You can't have her back Dan. You ruined that. And now, you're ruining her shot. If you really care about her, you should want the best for her. And you have to accept that you aren't what's best for her." 

"But Flack is." Danny muttered under his breath.

"Seems that way." Stella agreed, crossing her arms in front of her, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I guess I hadn't really though it out." He mumbled miserably.

"That's better."

OK SO I'M BACK! SOOOO SORRY ABOUT BEFORE…. I'M TRYING TO MAKE A COMEBACK HERE…


	9. Lost

Change of Heart

Chapter 9: Lost

Lindsay stepped out of the lab and into the rain. _How appropriate._

She made her way to her company issued truck and headed to the crime scene.

She missed him. That wasn't difficult to figure out. She missed the drinks after work, she missed how his forehead crinkled when he laughed. She missed feeling his hand barely brush her lower back when they walked together. She missed the way he bent his head down to her when she spoke to him.

She felt lost. God, she'd been so close…

Tears pricked her eyes and tumbled down her face. She pulled in a heavy breath. She glanced at herself in the mirror and furiously brushed the stray tears away. She couldn't break down, not now. Not when she'd held back for this long.

10 minutes later she pulled up to the scene. She parked and grabbed her kit from the passenger seat before heading towards the scene.

It was magnetic, her eyes landed on him almost instantly. She thanked heaven for her sunglasses, she didn't need him catching her watching him.

She squared her shoulders and approached him. "What've we got detective?" She asked, choosing not to make eye contact with him and instead allowed her eyes to roam the scene in front of her.

It was strange for him, standing this close to her yet feeling there were miles between them. He cleared his throat and briefed her on the scene.

She nodded curtly and set to work without a further word.

He observed her motions. They lacked her normal fluidity, her normal grace. She was stiff, tense. _It's because of me. She can't even work with me and be herself._ He knew that feeling. He'd been tangled up in knots since he'd found out she was going to be his CSI.

She processed as quickly and efficiently as she could. Burying herself in the job when she was upset was always a good fallback for her when life got tough. But it was considerably harder when the reason life was tough was also part of her job.

He busied himself with a few people who'd been in the vicinity when the crime had taken place.

"I'm done. I'll take this back to the lab. See you later." She told him just as he finished up with the last interview.

He nodded, feeling an incredibly strong pull to say something. He opened his mouth but she'd already turned away.

BACK AT THE LAB

It took her a full hour to go a block and a half. When she finally got back to the lab it was 7 pm. She stowed the evidence and her things before heading to her office. On her desk was a simple plain white envelope with her name scrawled across it in recognizable handwriting._ Danny._

She slid her fingernail under the sealed flap and opened the letter.

She sat down as she unfolded the envelope, slightly apprehensive about what she was about to read.

Linds,

I'm not so great with words, but I had to say this some way, so I figured it was better to write it then to not say it at all.

I'm sorry. I know it doesn't mean a whole lot, all things considered, but I owed you that and you deserved it.

I never meant to ruin things for you. I guess I was being selfish. That was wrong of me. I'm not that kind of person, or at least I'm trying not to be.

So I guess what I'm sayin' is I'm not gonna act like such an asshole anymore. I won't give you anymore trouble about moving on with your life.

And if you wanna move on with Flack, then don't let me stop you. You seemed real happy with him. I know I'm the reason things are bad between you guys, and I don't wanna be. I just want you to be happy Montana, that's all.

Danny.

She smiled sadly at the note. _If only it was that easy._

In truth, while Danny had been a contributing factor to her and Don's issue, it wasn't the primary problem, not in her opinion. No, her hang up had been that Don had been so willing to give up, especially since everything between them had felt so right. Danny's kind gesture was appreciated but he wasn't the issue.

She folded Danny's note and stuck it in one of her desk drawers before pulling out the files on the case from earlier and started the paperwork.

The lab was eerily quiet for a Friday night. Typically the place was bustling with activity. Lindsay glanced out her office window. The skies had opened up and rain was coming down in buckets.

_Guess even the criminals are laying low tonight._

Finally at 10 pm she called it a night. She packed up her things and grabbed her coat, cursing herself for not remembering her umbrella. She pulled her black trench coat tightly around her and headed to the front door. This was going to be a miserable walk to the subway station.

Having felt like he'd set things right (to the best of his ability) with Lindsay, Danny set out to talk to Flack.

He couldn't write Flack a note, he'd laugh in Danny's face. This would have to be face to face.

Danny glanced at his watch as he got off the subway. 9:00 pm. Don should be sitting down for his first beer at DJ's right about now.

Several minutes later he was standing in front of the gang's local hangout. He pulled in a deep breath, rubbed his hands together and stepped in.

He surveyed the scene in front of him, taking a mental attendance of which co-workers were there.

He saw Hawkes and Mac in the corner immersed in a deep conversation, Stella and Jen were throwing darts next to the bar, and Adam was glued to the recently installed Golden Tee game.

Lindsey was nowhere in sight. _Probably a good thing._

Flack was, as Danny thought, planted at the bar by himself. Sid was just standing up from talking to him. He patted the younger man on the back before stepping away. Danny passed by him.

"I tried, but that is one tough shell." Sid said as he passed by him to join Mac and Hawkes.

Danny sidled up to the taller man and sat down.

"Not a good time Messer."

Danny took a sip of the beer the bartender had already placed in front of him.

"I'm not here to cause problems. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I acted like a real bastard and I screwed things up for you guys. I just wanted you to know I'm not gonna do that anymore. I apologized to her, I figured you deserved the same. So if you wanna be with her, I'm not gonna stop you."

He didn't even give Flack a chance to respond. He picked up and his beer and strode over to Stella and Jen, feeling like he'd finally set things right.

Flack sighed into his beer. Never in a million years had he expected Danny to apologize.

"Thanks for sayin' you're sorry, but it doesn't matter, not really. She made it pretty clear she doesn't want me…." Flack replied sourly.

Danny sighed and scrubbed a hand through his dirty blonde hair.

_Man, this is so not the topic I want to be giving advice on._

"Look man, she's…. She's pretty messed up over you. She hasn't been right in weeks. That's not the way a woman who doesn't want you behaves." He said finally, squinting his eyes shut as he finished his statement.

Truth be told, Danny did have a thing for the bold brunette from Montana. He did. But he wasn't a total idiot. He'd missed his shot. And he was starting to realize that it was probably for the best.

Flack turned his sullen blue eyes toward his friend. He was silent for a long moment.

"Really?" He asked at last, his voice low and slightly disbelieving.

Danny managed a nod.

Flack turned back to his bottle, about to pick it up for another pull.

Dan's hand came down on his arm.

"You have no idea how hard it was for me to do this. Don't dismiss my intentions, she's a hell of a woman and if you don't go and fix this, I'm taking it all back. She deserves to be happy, and if you aren't going to attempt to do that, I'm going to make it my personal mission to prove that I'm the man for the job." Danny threatened, his voice laced with frustration.

Don took one long look at his colleague, his friend, and now, his potential competition.

He reached for his wallet and pulled out a twenty, tossing it on the bar as he stood.

Silently, he pulled on his jacket and turned to face the smaller man.

"Thank you." He told Danny.

With that said, he turned on his heel and left the bar, heading off in the direction of Lindsay's apartment.

Stella sidled up to Danny not 30 seconds after Flack had left.

"You did the right thing."

"Yeah, well why doesn't it feel like it? Why does it feel like I just sucker punched myself in the stomach?" He questioned the Greek woman miserably.

She placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Because you care."

FIN

OK, so there you go. Another chapter. Like me again?


	10. Love, Hate Or Indifference

Change of Heart

Chapter 10: Love, Hate or Indifference?

The rain hadn't let up since he'd left the bar.

The trudge to his truck had been miserable but the drive trumped it tenfold.

Between the weather and traffic, it was almost 11 pm by the time he pulled up in front of her building.

He gazed up at her apartment, her light was still on.

Flack pushed a hand through his gray flecked dark hair. He'd come here to talk to her but it wasn't until this moment that he realized he didn't know what to say.

"Screw it. Gotta start somewhere." He muttered as he pushed himself out of the vehicle and hurried across the sidewalk to her apartment.

He pushed the intercom button for her apartment and waited.

"Hello?" Came her tentative, tired voice.

"Linds, it's Don." He told her.

A long pause followed. "It's late Don." She finally replied, her voice sounding even more exhausted then before.

"Please Linds. I just wanna talk. I'm soaking wet, it's cold, I don't even have to come up. Just let me in the lobby." He suggested, shivering as more of the icy cold rain drops smacked him in the face.

She showed her agreement in the form of the door buzzing loudly. He grabbed the door handle and stepped in.

After shaking out his rain coat, he stepped to the inside intercom and resumed his earlier mission, get Lindsay to forgive him.

"Listen, Linds. Don't talk, OK? Just let me say this." He requested.

He was greeted by silence.

Satisfied, he scrubbed both hands down his face before placing his left index finger on the intercom button.

"I… Linds, I'm… God I'm so sorry. I messed up. I made a bad call. I know a good thing when I see it and I let it slip through my fingers the moment Messer walked in on us… You deserve better than that. I shouldn't have let Messer dictate the nature of our relationship. And, god, Linds, if it were any other woman on the other end of this intercom, I don't even think I'd be here, ya know? But you, I don't know… You, you get me and you get TO me. I have done everything I could do to get you off my mind but you're there… You were there before and now I can't make you go away. And honestly, I'm tired of trying, I'm not gettin' anywhere. I just… I'm sorry. I'm rambling. I just wanted to say I'm sorry." He finished lamely, feeling like a huge ass for standing in her lobby dripping wet, apologizing to a metal intercom plate.

"You're dripping on my newspaper."

He whirled around to find her standing on the stairs, decked out in pajamas and slippers.

He gazed at her for a long moment, looking for some sign that she'd accepted his apology, or if she'd even heard it for that matter.

Her face remained passive.

At last, he glanced down at the table below him and saw he was indeed, dripping on her paper.

Flack took a step forward, dug through the small basket, found one that wasn't wet and strode over to her.

He held the paper out to her, and a moment later, she took it.

She said nothing. His blue eyes examined her face once more before he turned and headed for the door. His hand was on the handle when she spoke.

"I haven't stopped thinking about you either."

He turned but kept his mouth shut, knowing it was her turn to speak.

"I hated how easy it seemed to be for you to drop me because of Danny. We had something going on that was… That was real. And I thought it counted for something. So when you just… Let it go… I was crushed, it was like I broke in two. I couldn't even look at you, every time I did, it felt like it was happening all over again. But you want to know the craziest part? The really screwed up part? I never hated you. I tried to, god I tried to, but I couldn't. Don't get me wrong, I hated what you did. But I never hated you."

Her arms were folded over her chest and she was leaning against the wall next to the stairs.

Flack considered her words before speaking. He took a couple of steps closer, not enough to invade her personal space, but close enough to show his desire to be near her.

"You know, they say the opposite of love isn't hate. It's indifference. And I for one, don't hate you either… So I guess… I guess I'm asking if you're indifferent? Cause I'm definitely not. But…You….You say you don't hate me… So… do you indifferent me?"

Her heart leaped into her throat. Suddenly, this conversation had just taken quite a serious tone.

She wanted to speak, to answer him, but she couldn't push the words out. Her mouth went dry, her thoughts were scattered all over her brain. She wanted to badly to form a coherent thought.

But before she could put together a cohesive response, he mistook her silence as her answer.

"I get it… I'm sorry I put you on the spot. Just forget I stopped by." He told her softly as he turned to the door once again.

This time, when her heart leapt into her throat, she pulled herself together.

"Do you love me?" She asked, her cheeks heating up the moment after she realized what she just asked.

He froze in place.

She pushed on. "Cause you just told me the opposite of love isn't hate… And since you aren't indifferent and you don't hate me… Does that mean you love me?"

His head dropped and his eyes fluttered closed. His back turned to her, he responded with a simple nod of his head.

He swallowed in a big gulp of air and sighed. He'd done it, he'd put it all on the line, answered her ridiculously revealing question and was not being met with silence.

"I love you too."

His eyes flew open and there she was, standing in front of him, her brown eyes shining with tears.

"Angel, you better mean that, cause if you don't, I-"

She cut him off with her lips. Her hands had planted themselves on the sides of his place and she'd hauled him to her level and kissed him like her life depended on it.

"I do."

THAT'S ALL FOLKS


End file.
